The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-06
THE NEW ITALIAN INVASION.
The Strange Variety of People Seeking
Our Shores


New YORK, June Amy one who has
spent a day in Castle Garden during the
past month of May, while the swell tide of
immigration has been rising, got a very
vidid idea of the strange variety of races
that are now swarming to our shores. In
other years we used to wonder at the ship
loads of Germans, Irish and Scandinavians,
but nowadays we see the wholesale immi-
grafton of races that never until recently
entered into the composition of the Ameri-
can people-especially Slavonians, Jews
and Italians | have been more particularly
struck with Italirns, whom have watched
with the deepest interest as they rush ashore
from the transports or huddle in the garden,
every man of them with his little pack of
worldly goods upon his back Last year we
saw the Italian tide at this port rise TO the
volume of 10000 souls, which was far be-
! Yond that of any previous year, and for the
first five months of this year we have seen
1t approach one-half that number with an
assurance of far surprising any past year
before the record of 1887 is made up.
Very interesting, indeed, is this influx of
the Italian race, destined to be influential
| i'll the formation of that composite Ameri-
can character which, as yet, is but in the
process of development. The Latin element
| of our population has, up to this time, been
slight and unimportant; but it is evidently
destined hereafter to be serious factor in
| the evolution of our national life. At first
the Italians strike the eye as being unusually
short in stature, few of them being over five
| feet five or six but one quickly sees that
| they are a hardy stock, firmly set in the
bones, strong in the muscles, with stout
grip, and moving with a tread full of ner-
vous energy. Their dark-skinned faces are
anything but stolid in fact, they have a look
of alertfIess and possession not seen in
| all other classes of immigrants who pour
into Castle Garden. They are, suspect,
very much such hosts as followed Caesar in
his campaigns, and who, contrary to a
| widespread notion, were not men of huge
stature, but men of just above this size as
ethnologists have shown. When any group
of them are welcomed by friends upon land
ing you see the most pleasing expression of
geniality upon their. countenances, and they
fall to talking with that volubility and self
| command which you find everywhere among
the peasantry in Southern Italy.
| A most excellent addition to our Ameri-
can population, | firmly believe, are these
swarming children of old Italy. Italy y
says Mr. Tame, ''the eldest daughter of
modern civilization, the virulent heiress of
the Roman pride and the antique patriot
| ism" 1t would be very easy to indulge in
| speculation as TO the probable influence of
uiiio ICW oOi tiiil INV DclllR 10 UDe
plastic American genius In short time
this Latin blood will be intermingled with
the two great races which have colonized
our country viii these Italians, in
case they continue to come hither as
they are doing now, transfuse into
| American veins,o on any measure, those quail
| tiles which for ages past have given color to
| Italian history Will they promote tor ex
ample, our artistic sensibilities or touch ou1
spirit with the inspiration of music! Strange.
| perhaps may seem such a question as we
glance at these impoverished and ragged
hordes now huddled at Castle Garden
but strange only to those who are unaware
of the depths to which the artistic sensibil
ity has penetrated, for instance, in Naples
or Florence.
One might wander far through the field OF
thought here suggested, and passing from
the new Italian tidal wave to the new Sla
woman tidal wave, might speculate upon the
changes in the American national character
that may result therefrom, and become APP
parent in the generation that will hold the
stage at the dawn of the twentieth century
| John SwINTON